Dreams taking Flight
by Tanya Reed
Summary: Zelena is defeated and the town rejoices.


Author's Note: This will probably be AU after tonight's ep (Bleeding Through), but I couldn't resist writing it. (Besides, it was going to end up AU anyway, I just expected it to take longer. LOL)

There was a shout of triumph as the last bit of the thing that had been Zelena collapsed in upon itself and swiftly melted into nothing. The shout turned into a cry from many throats as pandemonium broke out.

Regina stood in the middle of it all, stunned as much by the noise as by the sudden disappearance of her sister.

"We did it! We did it!" came joyfully from someone, but she wasn't sure who.

Around her, the residents of Storybrooke began to hug one another, congratulate one another, and pat one another on the back. There were tears and laughter. Someone was even doing both at the same time.

The celebration went on and on, surrounding Regina but not touching her. No one lifted her up and swung her around as Killian was doing to Emma. No one congratulated her or slapped her on the back. It was as though she were watching the others through a sheet of one-way glass.

Regina watched as Belle took the pale form of Rumpelstiltskin in her arms and cradled him to her chest. He weakly smiled and tears ran down the girl's cheeks. Regina watched as David and Mary Margaret embraced each other, both of them crying happy tears. They welcomed Emma into their embrace, all three talking at once. Regina watched as Tinkerbell hugged a surprised Killian, kissing him soundly on the cheek.

Ruby and Granny. The dwarves. Astrid and the nuns. Everyone, everyone rejoicing.

She felt empty. Everything she was had gone into defeating Zelena. Her heart, her soul. Her very blood seemed to have seeped out through her skin and into the ground at her feet. Blackness and death had called her. They had almost snatched her away, and yet, not one of the revelers spared a thought for their queen.

Regina swallowed and turned away, searching for some relief from the happy crowd. With the movement, her eyes landed on the group from the forest. Robin's Merry Men. They laughed and shouted, hugged harder and clapped one another more firmly than anyone else there. Grins lit their faces. Tuck, Alan, the newly restored John. And Robin.

Regina let her eyes rest on him. His smile was widest of all. He had an honest, trustworthy face and a twinkle in his eye that made her feel human again.

As if he felt her eyes on him, he looked up. Catching her gaze, he winked at her. Regina felt color come to her face, and warmth started in her chest and moved outward. She gave him a slight smile in answer.

He always seemed to be there, giving her what she needed when she needed it. She appreciated his presence in Storybrooke more than she could tell him. The way he looked at her as if she were a woman and not just an evil being. The way he'd selflessly guarded her heart until she needed it again. The way he listened, as if they were friends. He had never felt like a stranger. From the moment they met at Zelena's farmhouse, there had been something familiar about him.

People started drifting away, and the tight circle around Regina loosened. They were still talking excitedly as they left in clumps of two or three-or sometimes as many as five- with their arms about one another and their faces shining with relief and joy. Tinkerbell and Archie had joined Ruby and Granny. The dwarves wandered off with the nuns. She had done this. She had brought this happiness.

Regina frowned. When had it become her job to give others their happy endings?

A hand on her arm made her start.

"Regina?" It was Emma's voice, calm and practical as always, despite the joyous displays around them.

Regina turned to face her. Emma's hair and eyes were kind of wild, but her expression was one of pleased satisfaction.

"What is it?"

"We're going to Granny's for a little celebration." She pointed to her parents and Killian, who never seemed far from her side these days. "Would you like to come?"

The invitation surprised her. She hadn't believed her welcome would be extended past the Wicked Witch's demise.

"You're inviting me?"

"Sure. You saved us."

"It was more of a group effort." It hurt to admit this.

"Yeah. Led by you. The one with the magic. And nobody died, not even Gold."

Regina didn't argue that they all had pooled their magic-her, Emma, the fairies. Still, for the most part, Emma was right. "I suppose."

"So, you comin'?"

She thought about it. In the past, a meal with the Charmings would have seemed like torture, but lately she'd come to enjoy them. This was mostly because of Henry, but tonight Henry wouldn't be there. He was hidden with Jefferson and Ashley and the other children until morning. It meant a lot to Regina that she was being included on her own merit, but she knew she'd feel out of place. There were other places she'd rather be.

Her eyes flicked to Robin, and she saw him watching her.

"No," she told Emma. "I don't think so."

"You sure?"

Regina broke eye contact with Robin to assure her. "Perfectly...but thank you for asking."

Emma studied her closely. "Are you okay?"

"I'll be fine. I'm just...tired." It was a plausible answer. She'd almost been ripped apart in the struggle.

"All right. Call me if you need anything."

"I'm not an invalid, Emma, and you should be almost as drained as I am."

"I'm exhausted."

Regina nodded absently, her mind on something else. "Go. Eat with your family. Get some sleep. I'll see you tomorrow when we go to get Henry."

Emma nodded and hurried off to those waiting. Once more, Regina glanced at Robin, thoughts that had been stirring in her mind solidifying.

It was time. For too long, she had been hiding from herself. For too long, she had clutched stubbornly to a wall meant to keep people at a distance. She didn't want that anymore. She was ready to give up. She was ready to give in. She was ready to tear down the wall.

Robin's Merry Men started back towards the forest, but he stayed behind. Regina heard him tell them he'd catch up with them later before he started across the now practically empty street towards her.

"It seems the time apart did your heart no harm," he said easily as he approached.

"Actually, I think it was beneficial," she agreed.

"How are you feeling?" The concern in his expression was obvious.

"I've been better," she admitted.

His gaze searched her face. "Are you hurt?"

"Not badly."

He stared down at her as if waiting for more.

"Shouldn't you be with your men?" she asked eventually, lowering her gaze.

"They have no need of me."

She smirked at him. "And I do?"

"I wanted to make sure you were all right."

"As you can see, I'm fine."

"Are you really?"

"I'm better than I would have been if the fight went the other way.

"Don't even joke about that, Regina."

"You're serious," she said, somewhat surprised.

"Of course I'm serious."

She studied him for several seconds before admitting, "I don't understand you, Robin of Locksley."

A sudden, impish smile broke out. "Nothing much to understand, really. I'm a thief...a jokester...a father...and I'm the man who held your heart in my hands."

"Yes, I suppose you are." Her gaze dropped to his hands. They were strong and capable. She liked that his fingers were calloused from shooting his bow and that they were gentle enough to soothe a frightened child.

He cleared his throat, and Regina felt herself flushing. She didn't dare to look up, afraid of what she'd see in his eyes.

When she said nothing else, he eventually replied, "I'd do it again."

Still not looking at him, she reached out and took his hand, the one with the tattoo, reminding herself of her promise to tear down the wall.

"You kept me safe," she said quietly. "A person's heart is the most vulnerable part of her body. As long as it beats, she lives, blood pumping through her veins. And she loves. And she can be broken."

"A heart is a precious thing indeed," he agreed, allowing her to run her fingers over his and to turn his hand so the palm was showing. She wondered what he was thinking.

"Without your protection, my heart would never have survived for this confrontation. Zelena would have won before we figured out how to best her. This victory is not mine alone."

"We all had a hand in it." His fingers closed over hers, stilling them, and he squeezed gently. "I know how important my part was."

"You asked me," she said softly, "back in the forest, how I could trust something so valuable to a common thief."

"Aye."

"That was why. You are the first person in a long time to think that lump of black streaked crimson had any value."

"Regina."

"I wanted to thank you for that." She looked up to gauge his reaction.

Robin was shaking his head. "There's no need to thank me for seeing the truth."

Regina smiled. It came so suddenly that it surprised her. Since that day in the farmhouse, her faith in him had continued to grow and not once had he broken it. Their memories had not returned, so she had no idea if it had been the same in their missing year, but here, now, he had become the one person she felt she could depend upon. It was a strange feeling—terrifying, really—after relying only on herself for so long.

"You should do that more often."

"Lately, there hasn't been much reason to smile. I lost my son. My wicked sister came to try to erase me. I had to rip out my heart and bury it, never a pleasant experience. And I lived with the danger of being turned into a flying monkey."

"And yet you smiled at me when we first met."

The memory of their brief flirtation in the farmhouse made her tingle. For that few minutes, she had felt free. Free to be silly. Free to flirt. Free to smile and laugh. His sure, easy manner had brought out the girl in her, and she'd embraced her new found freedom.

"You flirted with me," she accused in a tone laced with amusement.

He laughed. "How could I resist?"

His laughter warmed her. Fear of enjoying it too much tried to creep in, but Regina refused to let it.

Robin loosed her hand and looked around at the now empty street. "It appears as if the others have all left."

"Tonight is a night to be home embracing the ones you love."

"This is true."

Not knowing what to do with her hands now that they were both free, she wrapped her arms around herself.

"Are you cold?" he asked, undoing his jacket without waiting for an answer.

"It's been a long day," she said vaguely, thinking about her big, empty house. She'd rather stay in the street with Robin, even with the growing chill, than be there alone.

"You must be exhausted."

Robin put his jacket around her. When he drew the front pieces together, he didn't let go. Regina liked having him close. The clean smell of forest surrounded her, a scent of trees and earth and sky. She wanted to bury her face in his shoulder and breathe deeply.

"Yes, I am tired."

"You should go home and rest."

"I don't need to sleep."

"You look weary."

Regina rolled her eyes. "Haven't you learned you should never tell a woman she looks tired? We never want to be reminded of the bags under our eyes or the pallor of our skin."

"Even looking weary could not diminish your beauty."

Regina's stomach flipped. Before she could change her mind, she blurted, "How would you like to come home with me, Locksley?"

"You wish me to walk you home?" He looked puzzled.

"Well, that's a start. I still owe you that drink."

He dropped the sides of the jacket and raised his eyebrows. "Shouldn't that wait until you're better rested?"

"There you go, saying I look tired again."

Amusement twinkled in his eyes. "My apologies."

She took his hand, threading their fingers together. A pleasant shiver traveled up her arm at the feeling of skin on skin.

As they started walking, she continued, "Sleep is the furthest thing from my mind. It's not what I need. What I need is to feel as if I'm still alive."

Robin paused, and she was forced to stop. "What are you saying?"

She thought about her answer carefully, wondering the same thing, before replying, "That depends on what you want me to be saying."

"Regina?"

"I almost died tonight. We all almost died. I was so close that the darkness washed over me. I felt as if I were drowning in my own blood. There were so many regrets. I wasted so many chances. I once heard somewhere that we all get a second chance if we'll only open our eyes to see it. I don't want any more regrets."

"So, we're going to your house for a drink?"

"If you will."

"And then?" His hand came up to touch her cheek. It was a soft, barely there caress that started her heart beating wildly in her chest.

She cleared her throat, trying to make her voice steady. "That's up to you."


End file.
